Throwing some shapes: How should you be dressing your body shape? Part three

We all want to look our best, and with the pressure of summer making many people strive toward the perfect beach body, you're probably looking for ways to make your body look its best.

This doesn't mean you need to diet – after all, every body is beautiful – as simply understanding how to dress for your body shape can help you look and feel amazing. This also means you'll be able to wear your favourite summer trends without having to worry.

In part one and part two of this guide, we looked at dressing hourglass, pear, rectangle and inverted triangle body shapes. For our final part of the guide, we're looking at the best ways to dress diamond and apple body shapes to make every outfit look fab.

Diamond

If you have a diamond-shaped body, it means that your waist is wider than your hips and shoulders, which are the narrowest part of your frame. This shape is due to how you carry weight, meaning that any size can have a diamond shaped body.

This body shape is quite difficult to dress as you want to create balance while also making your waist appear smaller. This will create the illusion of a more hourglass frame and flatter the body you have.

So how do you achieve this?

The main thing you need to do is choose clothing types that even out your shoulders with the rest of your body. This means selecting dresses and tops that make your top half appear fuller, adding curves and creating balance.

Things like square necklines, wrap-style busts, wide necklines and strapless or off-the-shoulder styles can broaden your shoulders and make your bust look fuller. Team this with belts worn at the waist, tailored pieces that slim the waist and empire waistlines to slim your midsection down.

The finishing touch should be trousers or skirts that help to make your lower body seem longer and leaner. This is important as it will complete the balanced look, ensuring your bottom half doesn't offset the effect you have created on your top section.

Dark colours, wide-legged trousers that fall from the hip, straight or A-line skirts and boot cut trousers are all great ways to go. You shouldn't be worried about showing off your legs, as you can get away with skirts that fall just above the knee, so long as they don't add volume.

Apple

Those with an apple-shaped body have one that is similar to diamond shapes, although you'll have an average to large bust, which already makes your top half look broader. Apple shapes carry most of their weight on their stomach and bust.

Again, this isn't the easiest shape to dress, but that doesn't mean you should give up. There are several tricks that can help make the most of your shape and leave you feeling fabulous.

The key things to remember with this body shape is to create a waist, highlight your bust and create slimming, vertical lines that will make you look leaner and longer. This will create a great silhouette that shows off your whole shape, not just focuses on your torso.

To start with, you want to avoid any clothing that adds volume to your torso. This means no puffa jackets, oversized tops, solid colours, high necklines, and clingy t-shirts. These aren't your friends so get rid of them now.

Instead, you want to choose clothing that fits you properly, skimming your natural lines. This means that the first place you need to start is the bra. Get a fitting to ensure you are wearing the right size, as this will help to make the most of your bust and can actually help you realise that your torso is not as big as you might have thought.

You should then choose tops or dresses that highlight the slimmest part of your top, which is probably just below your bust. This means empire waists are a great choice, so long as they don't fall in a style that is too wide.

Other things that help are V-necks, middle ruching, patterns, tailored jackets, details around the arms and belted waists. All of these will draw attention away from your stomach, create a nice line, and lengthen your frame.

When it comes to skirts and trousers, you want to wear items that don't add any extra bulk to your stomach and help to slim your silhouette. This means trousers that have high waists, bootleg bottoms, wide legs and side zips are all great choices.

If you want a good skirt style, pencil skirts that end at the knee, side zips and pleats that fall below your stomach are all good choices. You should aim to show off your legs as well as your cleavage to totally draw attention away from your middle.